Rome Bans Sitting On Spanish Steps

Rome without doubt is always on top of the travel bucket list of all history geeks. With an incomparable architecture, this city mesmerizes tourists with its perfect blend of art, culture and history. It has never failed to be a tourist&rsquos paradise. But, the hordes of tourists every year have triggered the problem of over tourism. Keeping this in view, the Roman government has passed a legislation banning people from sitting on the Spanish Steps.

The Spanish Steps in Rome are a landmark meeting place and many tourist walks start and end at this point. One can expect huge crowds of people flocking this area at any point of time. But with government&rsquos latest decision, hanging around at this UNESCO heritage site might be a lot more expensive than one would have expected. Sitting on these 18^th century marble steps can now cost you &euro250 that can go up to &euro400.

This move doesn&rsquot come as a surprise as the government had passed a number of similar rules in June including a ban on messy eating, wandering around bare &ndash chested, jumping into fountains and dragging wheeled suitcases along the staircase. The Sapnish Steps were recently restored by the Italian luxury brand Bvlgari on its 130th anniversary in 2016.

Though this is a direct attempt to curb over tourism, the government also aims to preserve the city&rsquos historical landmarks through this decision. The ban has been subject to several discussions among the masses. Many feel that this move by the government is extreme and penalizing people for sitting down is a bit absurd.